According to the latest labour force statistics (provisional figures for May – July 2014) released today (August 18) by the Census and Statistics Department, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 3.2% in April – June 2014 to 3.3% in May – July 2014. The underemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.5% in the two periods.

Comparing May – July 2014 with April – June 2014, increases in the unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) were mainly observed in the food and beverage service activities, repair, laundry, domestic and other personal service activities, and retail sectors. As to the underemployment rate, a decrease was mainly observed in the decoration, repair and maintenance for buildings sector while notable increase was not seen in any particular sector.

Total employment increased by around 26 400 from 3 744 700 in April – June 2014 to 3 771 100 in May – July 2014. Over the same period, the labour force also increased by around 32 100 from 3 872 300 to 3 904 400.

The number of unemployed persons (not seasonally adjusted) increased by around 5 700 from 127 600 in April – June 2014 to 133 300 in May – July 2014. The number of underemployed persons in May – July 2014 was 57 900, about the same as 58 000 in April – June 2014.

Commenting on the latest unemployment figures, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said, “The labour market showed some initial signs of easing with the distinct slackening in inbound tourism and slowdown in domestic demand recently. Although total employment rose to an all-time high of 3 771 100, the increase in labour force was even more. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up further by 0.1 percentage point to 3.3% in May – July 2014.”

On the short-term outlook, Mr Cheung said, “The latest economic analysis indicates that while the Hong Kong economy might hopefully see some relative improvement in the rest of 2014, the outlook is still clouded by downside risks stemming from both the domestic and external fronts. The employment situation in the near term will hinge on the overall economic situation, including how tourism and consumption-related sectors would fare. We, therefore, need to stay vigilant and monitor development closely. The Labour Department will keep up its efforts in providing comprehensive employment support services to job-seekers.”

To help prepare current-year secondary school graduates for the employment market, the Labour Department has launched a special programme – “Career GPS” – from May to August this year, with an aim of enhancing their interview skills and providing them with career assessment and consultation services. The Department will continue to canvass job vacancies suitable for fresh graduates who are entering the job market immediately, and organise large-scale and district-based job fairs where job interviews can be conducted on the spot.

Apart from the Tuen Mun Job Fair that was held last week, the Department will organise a Retail Industry Job Fair from September 18 to 19 at the Lai Kok Community Hall at Cheung Sha Wan. ~

The Government released today (August 15) the Half-yearly Economic Report 2014, together with the preliminary figures on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2014.

The Hong Kong economy slowed down further to a mere 1.8% year-on-year growth in real terms in the second quarter of 2014, from 2.6% in the first quarter, marking the slowest growth since the third quarter of 2012. The weak performance was mainly weighed down by a fall-off in tourist spending and a concurrent slowdown in domestic demand. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, real GDP dipped by 0.1% in the second quarter, after a 0.3% growth in the preceding quarter.

The Government Economist Helen Chan stated looking forward, the global economy is expected to remain on a moderate recovery path in the rest of 2014. This, together with an improving Mainland economy, should entail a somewhat brighter export outlook for Hong Kong in the period ahead, though the scope of rebound might continue to be held back by the rather fragile recovery of the advanced markets.

In cognisance of the worse-than-expected outturn in the first half of 2014, and even taking into account some possible relative stabilisation in economic performance in the latter part of the year, the Hong Kong economy is only poised to attain modest growth for this year as a whole. The GDP growth forecast for 2014 as a whole is thus revised downward from 3-4% in the May round of review to 2-3% in the current round. ~

According to the latest labour force statistics (provisional figures for February – April 2014) released today (May 19) by the Census and Statistics Department, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.1% in February – April 2014, same as that in January – March 2014. The underemployment rate increased from 1.2% in January – March 2014 to 1.4% in February – April 2014.

Comparing February – April 2014 with January – March 2014, increases in the unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) were mainly observed in the decoration, repair and maintenance for buildings, and accommodation services sectors, while decreases were mainly seen in the cleaning and similar activities sector, and the foundation and superstructure works of the construction sector. As to the underemployment rate, increases were mainly observed in the cleaning and similar activities, and construction sectors.

Total employment increased by around 3 800 from 3 721 000 in January – March 2014 to 3 724 800 in February – April 2014. Over the same period, the labour force also increased by around 6 100 from 3 840 100 to 3 846 200.

The number of unemployed persons (not seasonally adjusted) increased by around 2 300 from 119 100 in January – March 2014 to 121 400 in February – April 2014. Over the same period, the number of underemployed persons also increased by around 5 100 from 47 700 to 52 800.